Bob Moncur: “The powers that be are making a game for softies.
“I’m not going to harp on about how good the old days were but I do remember it being a contact sport.
“I remember going to training and practising 50-50 balls with people and taking the ball from an opposing player, which sometimes ended with them being on the floor.
“We used to get applauded at St James’ Park for a good strong tackle and believe me, and this still applies now – if you chicken out of a tackle you will soon know about it from the crowd.
“It’s up to people like Sepp Blatter at FIFA to sort it out, I don’t blame all of the referees, it’s what they get instructed from the top.
“At the moment it’s not very clear what a bad or a good tackle is, but was Kevin Nolan deservedly sent off for two tackles?
“Mr Blatter seems to come up with a new idea about something else everyday but none of them seem to come off.
“I don’t want to see things like elbowing and punching in the game, that’s totally different.
“But if two players aren’t allowed to contest a 50-50 ball without seeing a bit of fall out or somebody ending up on the deck, there’s a problem.
“Alan Smith has gone in a few times this season and ended up with yellow cards.
“I don’t see people like Alan Smith or Kevin Nolan as dishonest players, just men who like to make genuine attempts to win the ball in tackles and not con the paying public by chickening out of tackles, they’re not shirkers.
“You’d like to think some players would just get up and get on with it when they are tackled rather than carrying on like that and rolling about.
“I look back at players like Alan Shearer who’d use his strength and I wonder where the next type of player is coming from.
“Sadly we see players trying to get opponents booked or sent off, which shouldn’t be in the nature of the game.”
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